Travel News: August 10, 2017

Iberostar Hotels & Resorts has opened its second U.S. property, the Iberostar Berkeley, in Miami Beach.

The owners spent $43 million to gut and redevelop the former Berkeley Shore Hotel, an art deco building built in 1940. The Collins Avenue hotel has 96 guestrooms, including 20 “premier” rooms with balconies.

The pet-friendly hotel has a fourth-floor pool and deck area and a BLT Steak restaurant.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the country has introduced a visa-free entry program to 80 nationalities in an effort to boost travel and tourism amid its ongoing diplomatic crisis with neighboring nations.

The new visa waiver program is effective immediately and comprises countries from all over the world, including the U.S., U.K., Mexico, China, France, Germany, Spain and Cuba, among others.

The website www.flymidwestexpress.com, which was registered Feb. 15 but apparently didn’t have much content until this week, says two business partners are seeking investors as well as potential employees in an effort to bring back Midwest Express airline.

With the continent sweltering under a heatwave nicknamed Lucifer, tempers have been boiling over, too, as a wave of anti-tourism protests take place in some of Europe’s most popular destinations. Yet, as “tourism-phobia” becomes a feature of the summer, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has defended the sector, calling on local authorities to do more to manage growth in a sustainable manner.

The focal point for much of this has been Spain, which had a record 75.6 million tourists last year, including 17.8 million from the UK. In Barcelona, where tensions have been rising for years over the unchecked surge in visitors and impact of sites such as Airbnb on the local housing market, Arran, the youth wing of the radical CUP (Popular Unity Candidacy), have been filmed slashing the tyres of rental bicycles and a tour bus. An Arran spokesperson told the BBC: “Today’s model of tourism expels people from their neighbourhoods and harms the environment.” Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy described the group as “extremists”.

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By: Matt Long

Matt has a true passion for travel. As someone who has a bad case of the travel bug, Matt travels the world in order to share tips on where to go, what to see and how to experience the best the world has to offer.
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